One Long Day
by JazziePerson
Summary: The aftermath of Requiem. Mixing meds is never a good idea. Magnus gets sick upon the return from the Bermuda Triangle. Two shot.
1. Chapter 1

**One Long Day**

Chapter 1:

They were in the car on the way home when it all went wrong. Will had been staring out of the window, next to Magnus and the Big Guy was driving. They'd only been moving for about a minute, not even in Old City when Magnus doubled over suddenly. Will almost didn't notice when he heard her gasp. The Big Guy caught his eye in the rear view mirror and Will frowned.

"Magnus?" he shifted closer, "You okay?"

She was silent for a moment, her face hidden behind a curtain of hair. Will realised her arms had wrapped around her stomach. As he watched, her hands clenched into fists.

"Magnus?" Will touched her shoulder lightly.

"Stop the car." It was barely above a whisper but both Will and the Big Guy heard it. They exchanged another glance.

"Stop the car now." Magnus growled.

The Big Guy obliged and braked abruptly. Thankfully there was no one on the road. Almost before the car was fully stationary, Magnus was out of the door and bolting for the tree line. Will saw her drop to her knees.

Back in the car, the Big Guy grunted, concerned. Will shrugged in return and climbed out of the car to follow his boss. As he approached, he heard the sounds of retching. His stomach twisted uncomfortably; hadn't Magnus been through enough for one day? Without a word, he knelt beside her and swept her hair away from her face and held it back. Magnus coughed and tried to speak.

"It's fine." Will murmured, his other hand resting on her arm.

She looked up at him, looking more miserable and pathetic than he'd ever seen her. Her eyes were watering, so much so that a few tears had slipped down her cheeks and her face was flushed from the cold. Will felt a rush of sympathy and protectiveness.

"Hey, are you okay?" It felt like a pretty redundant question but it seemed better to say something rather than nothing.

Magnus swallowed thickly, several times. She looked almost dazed, her eyes unfocussed. "Dizzy..."

"Is this the parasite? Could it still be in your system?" Panic rose up again and Will had to concentrate hard to stay focussed on Magnus.

She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "No, I checked the blood work twice. This is..." she lurched forward, heaving violently.

Will was desperate for her theory but he held her hair carefully and waited patiently for her to finish. After a minute she sat back, shaking and swaying ominously.

"Done?" Will asked.

Magnus blinked. "I think... I think it's the anti-virals... the drugs I took to fight it."

"You said they could make you ill." Will recalled.

"Parasite must've been blocking... the effects..." She was getting breathless. "Need... dialysis..."

Will frowned. "We need to get you back to the Sanctuary." He glanced back at the car. "Can you get up?"

Magnus nodded distractedly. Will stood, his hand still on Magnus' shoulder. She staggered to her feet and began to stumble towards the car. Half way there though, Will stepped up beside her, unable to watch her continue to struggle.

By the time they got to the car, Magnus was white, slicked with sweat and almost unconscious. She dropped onto the backseat and Will slid in beside her, shifting her so her head was on his shoulder.

The Big Guy grunted from the front seat, his eyes on Magnus. Will looked up and caught his eye. "Step on it."

The Big Guy obeyed and they sped towards Old City. Will explained what had happened, as much as he knew and understood, including Magnus' instructions. As he spoke, he suddenly realised how long the day had been. Magnus informing him that they were heading to the Bermuda Triangle felt like such a long time ago and he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten. His stomach rumbled as he came to that realisation.

At his shoulder, Magnus moaned, her eyelids flickering. Will touched her cheek and felt the car speed up beneath him.

A moment later they were pulling up at the Sanctuary. The Big Guy was out of the car in seconds, lifting Magnus carefully into his arms. She groaned softly but didn't pull away. The Big Guy rushed inside, calling back over his shoulder to Will. "Inform the others."

Will nodded. He closed the car doors, locked it and then followed the Big Guy inside. But instead of heading to the infirmary, he ran up the stairs, heading for Ashley and Henry's rooms on the top floor. It was nearly eleven pm so they were probably there, getting ready for bed. He knocked on Ashley's door.

"One second." Ashley's voice was muffled by the door.

"Ashley?" Will called impatiently.

The door flew open. There Ashley stood, dressed in pyjamas, halfway through tying up her hair. "Hey, you're back. Where's Mom?" she asked.

"Ashley..." Will winced. "She's in the infirmary. She's sick. The Big Guy's with her. He told me to get you and Henry."

Ashley's face morphed into an expression of shock. She pushed past Will and charged across the hall, banging on Henry's door. "Hey, Henry. Open up!"

A sleepy 'what?' drifted through the door.

"Henry, come out. Mom's sick."

The door flew open much as Ashley's had and Henry appeared, sleep rumpled but alert, eyes freaked. "What?"

Ashley turned back to Will, gesturing wildly.

Will blinked and then composed himself. "I'll tell you on the way." And they sped off, sprinting for the elevator.

When they finally made it down to the infirmary, the Big Guy had Magnus in one of the beds, hooked up to a dialysis machine. She still had her eyes closed but she did look slightly more human with skin a few shades up from white.

Ashley pushed past Will, who had stopped in the doorway and sat down on the side of the bed, taking Magnus' hand in hers. Will was touched by such a gentle gesture despite the conflict between them.

The Big Guy grunted behind him and he jumped. "How is she?"

"Should be fine in twelve hours."

Will nodded, relieved. He could breathe again. He could relax. He saw Ashley's shoulders sag too.

"Man, what the hell happened?" Henry asked.

Ashley turned around too, still holding Magnus' hand. "Yeah, you told us the facts. What actually happened?"

Will sat down, suddenly exhausted. He scrubbed a hand across his face and sighed. And told them. told them about the mermaids, the parasite, Magnus in pain, killing Magnus...


	2. Chapter 2

**One Long Day**

Chapter 2:

Will blinked blearily. He was hot. Really hot. He sat up, his head spinning and realised that he was lying on one of the infirmary beds, still in all his clothes. He looked around and saw Henry asleep on the bed the other side of Magnus. Ashley was sleeping too, slumped half on Magnus' bed and half sitting on the infirmary stool. The Big Guy was mysteriously absent.

Will glanced at his watch. Just after three in the morning. They'd crashed there just before twelve, after Will was done explaining the full story, deciding they'd all sleep better closer to Magnus. So that was only three hours ago. Will rubbed his eyes. That meant Magnus had another eight hours of dialysis.

He climbed off of the bed and pulled a second stool up to Magnus' bed. Glancing at Ashley, he noticed that she was shivering. Shrugging off his jacket, he wrapped it around her shoulders. She stirred but didn't wake up. He smiled.

Looking back down at Magnus, he realised her eyes were open.

"Jesus, Magnus!" he winced, dropping his voice to a whisper.

She was smiling softly, evidently just having seen him give his jacket to Ashley. "Sorry."

Will huffed. "It's fine, I think. Yes, my heart rate is slowly returning to normal."

Magnus lifted the hand that Ashley wasn't holding and swatted weakly at him.

Will dodged. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," Magnus replied.

"You gave us a bit of a scare for a bit."

"I'm sorry." She was sincere, her expression apologetic.

"Why are you sorry? You were only trying to get rid of the parasite, save both our lives." Will shuddered at the memories. "If you hadn't thought of a way to expel it, the sub would've gone down and we both would've died."

Magnus went to touch his arm but one of the tubes wasn't long enough, holding her back. Her face clouded with frustration and Will shifted closer. She smiled. "I should've known there would be some repercussions. You were right: it was stupid to mix the medications together."

"Wow," Will feigned shock and then grinned. "The great Helen Magnus just admitted she was wrong."

"I admitted nothing of the sort." Even drugged out of her skull and half asleep, Magnus was sharp. "I said you were right. Entirely different."

"No, no, no. Either you mix or you don't. No grey area here. You admitted you were wrong." Will snorted.

Magnus shook her head. "What does it even matter? I won't remember this conversation come morning."

"It always matters, Magnus. I was right. I was right."

Magnus watched his glee for a moment, smiling. "You're more right than you know."

"What?" Will was serious again.

"I meant what I said on the sub: you're doing better than you could ever realise. I'm proud of how much progress you've made."

Will smiled, not sure how to respond. He was sure he was blushing. Then Magnus yawned, saving him from having to answer. "I'll let you get some more sleep." He was quite prepared to go back to his hijacked infirmary bed.

"Will? You are most welcome to go back to your own room if you so wish."

While his own bed and a hot shower sounded more than just appealing, Will could see something in Magnus' eyes that stopped him from immediately accepting. He couldn't be sure of the exact emotion but it did tell him that she wasn't quite ready for him to leave.

"I'm... fine. Just get some sleep." He squeezed her hand.

She smiled, the relief barely visible and obliged him, closing her eyes. He smiled and waited until her breathing evened out before creeping back to his infirmary bed. He lay down, facing Magnus' bed and let himself drift off.

He didn't wake up until late the next morning. A glance at his watch told him it was almost ten and he stretched, wincing as various joints popped.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Ashley called out to him.

He looked up to see her, still in her pyjamas, sitting on the edge of Magnus' bed. Magnus herself was sitting up too, tubes still attached. Both were smiling at him.

"Er, hi." Will blinked and sat up.

Ashley threw him his jacket, over her mother and across the gap between the beds. "You really need to wash that thing."

Will smiled dryly. "You're welcome Ashley."

Magnus laughed.

Henry groaned from his bed. "What time is it?" his words were slightly slurred.

"Late. Time to get up Henry." Ashley told him over her shoulder.

"Haha. You'll only have been up for ten minutes. Doc?" he complained.

Magnus' eyes twinkled. "I'm not getting involved, Henry."

Henry pouted. "Spoilsport. How're you feeling?"

"Well, thank you, Henry." Magnus smiled.

"How many more hours hooked up?"

"Only one."

"Not long." Ashley crowed, obviously pleased.

Will suddenly noticed that mother and daughter were holding hands and had been since he'd woken up. He smiled. Whatever he'd inadvertently interrupted had apparently been doing them good, healing the breach between them. Even if they weren't fixed yet, Will could see that they were well on the way to getting there. That made him happy.


End file.
